Rick Gorka's trials on the campaign trail

8/3/12 2:27 PM EDT

Rick Gorka, Mitt Romney's traveling press secretary, has become a symbol for internal debates over the Romney campaign's press strategy since his "kiss my ass" outburst in Warsaw earlier this week.

Today, BuzzFeed's Zeke Miller and McKay Coppins offer a defense of the man who, for all his cursing and combativeness, they say is "ultimately endearing" and "has performed his duties with a certain measure of charm."

The defense, in sum, is: "Hell, life on the campaign trail ain't easy, but he's still handing out sandwiches." (Reporters on the trail seem to forgive quite a bit if they're fed).

This is actually a refreshing break from the conventional chorus of press corps complaints and, I assume, accurate: Gorka is probably a nice guy and he's certainly working himself to the bone. More importantly, it highlights the fact that Gorka has the Sisyphean task of a being the messenger for a campaign that often has no message. (See: Gorka repeating one talking point to reporters over and over on the back of a plane.)

But presidential campaigns aren't the bush leagues, they're the Olympics. It hardly matters how hard-working a gymnast you are if, come showtime, you trip on the balance beam. When Gorka repeated the same answer over and over again on the plane, it looked bad for the campaign. When he told reporters to "kiss my ass" in Warsaw — using language Romney doesn't want associated with his campaign and ensuring that Poland, like the UK and Israel before it, would be remembered for gaffes, rather than issues — that, too, looked bad for the campaign.

"Reporters shouldn't shoot the humble messenger," Miller and Coppins write. The argument assumes there isn't a better, more professional way to deliver a message. There is.

Earlier this week, one member of the traveling press corps told me the Romney campaign needed to put someone on the trail "who is not going to scream ‘kiss my ass.’” I personally think the Romney campaign can do whatever it wants (and, frankly, I prefer a little spice on my sandwich), but I think the point is well taken. Part of the press secretary's job description is not blowing up at the press on camera — even if it is defensible.